Fire and Iron
by Seriously Facetious
Summary: After a great military defeat of an Earth Kingdom stronghold, Fire Lady Ilah is presented with the defeated king's youngest daughter as a servant. Under the protection of the gracious Lady, the young girl struggles with balancing her feelings of daughterly affection for the Fire Lady and the contempt for the Fire Nation. Reviews greatly appreciated.
1. Flicker of Mercy

I was recently reading some historical fiction on Cleopatra and this came to mind. Plus Lady Ilah needs some love. We'll see where it goes if anywhere.

As if in celebration of the military victory, the sun shone especially bright after a week of rain. Fire Lord Azulon had accomplished a military conquest that had eluded his father. It had put him in an extraordinarily good mood. The city of Tiehuyu, rich in iron and other precious metals, had posed a problem for Sozin from the very beginning of his conquest. Unlike the other Earth Kingdom cities, it simply refused to fall, and its strategic value as well as riches made it undeniably important. An army needed to be paid, and sacking Tiehuyu as well as having access to its iron would be more than useful. However, Tiehuyu's king had proven to be incredibly battle ready, and his armies had fought well. They were not fighting for wealth or for invasion purposes. They were fighting to protect their homes and families. The initial attempt to conquer them had been pitiful. Sozin never spoke of it. King Okami, the ruler of Tiehuyu, would bow to no man, not even the Fire Lord. He had earned the moniker of The Iron Wolf-Snake as a young man, and it only grew more popular after sending the Fire Nation army into a hurried retreat. Sozin would never forget the embarrassment, nor would Azulon.

Okami thrived in battle, but he was not a wise man. He had thought Sozin would lose interest in Tiehuyu, and for a while, he was right. There were other Earth Kingdom cities to conquer and plunder. Even though the rest of the world was under attack, Tiehuyu was left in peace and that was enough for Okami. Such disillusioned peace could not last for long. The Fire Nation would return and would do so with such an intensity that barely a memory of Tiehuyu would remain. The beautiful architecture, art and refined culture of Tiehuyu had been burned to cinders. Nothing remained of the fabled city. Azulon had made sure of it. Or at least, he'd ordered it's complete and utter destruction. Supposedly, they had even salted the fields so nothing could ever grow again.

Ilah had heard that Okami had begged for his life on the battlefield like a coward, but she doubted it. There had been worse rumors. Some said that the Queen of Tiehuyu had tried to offer herself to the conquering general to save her life. Some said she'd offered her daughters. Ilah doubted those rumors as well. What she did not doubt was how pleased her husband was as he stood, gloriously bathed in sunlight, at the Royal Plaza as the triumphant march took place. Hundreds upon hundreds of Fire Nation citizens crowded the plaza as the returning soldiers marched through the middle of the cheering crowd. They brought with them the spoils of war. Pieces of gold, jade and silk were being carried in piles to be presented to the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation people.

It was truly a magnificent sight to behold. Ilah did not have the stomach for war. Bloodshed unnerved her, and she did not believe in the total superiority of the Fire Nation. However, these were not thoughts to be spoken aloud. Ilah did love her husband, and she did value her life. The Fire Lady played her role with finesse and charm, sitting elegantly by her husband and seemingly just as enthralled by the glory of his army.

All was going as planned and with great festivity until the final prize was marched forward into the crowd. The child's face was smeared with ash and dirt with the remainder of tear trails on her cheeks. She was perhaps eight years old and struggling to walk with the weight of chains about her slender shoulders. King Okami's youngest daughter kept her gaze on the path before her – ignoring the enemy soldiers and crowd. Her mother and older sisters had taken their lives in rebellion, but her mother had sent her and her youngest brother with their nurse in an attempted escape. It had failed. The general had killed her brother to keep him from growing into a possible threat. However, the general had thought it would be a fine gift, an excellent way to demonstrate the Fire Nation superiority, to display a princess in chains. The only royal family was that of the Fire Nation. Imposters should be punished and humiliated. The general had not thought that instead of seeing an imposter princess the crowd would see a frightened child. The cheering turned to boos and sympathetic pleas and something was thrown at one of the soldier's who spurred the child forward when she stumbled.

Ilah muffled her gasp of shock with a hand. She could not bear to see the child suffer, dressed in the ragged remains of silk robes. The corner of Azulon's lip twitched in dissatisfaction. He didn't care about the child, but he cared about the people's reaction. The general had made a mistake. It would not be forgotten, but it would have to be dealt with later.

At last, the general reached the Fire Lord and knelt, "I present to you the treasures of King Okami, and his youngest daughter as a prisoner of war."

"You have done well, general," His voice was terse, and the general's expression registered a hint of knowledge that he'd displeased his Fire Lord in some way. "Although, I am not quite certain what you would have me do with the child."

The general cleared his throat, "I thought…perhaps she could be a servant to the Fire Lady. A former princess serving true royalty…"

Ilah sat up straighter, glancing at her husband with an almost pleading expression. "That would please me greatly, husband, to be waited upon by an Earth Kingdom princess."

Azulon dipped his head, "then it is done." He spoke to the general and his wife before walking away from the two of them to address his people and salvage the festivities with a heartening speech of Fire Nation supremacy.

The Fire Lady paid little attention to this speech, instead focusing her attention and the shaking child for whom she now felt responsible. The child was taken away with the rest of the more valuable treasures, including Okami's crown, and Ilah wanted to go with her but knew better than to leave the celebration of Tiehuyu's destruction.


	2. Iron Chains

So if you're reading this and think to yourself "Moro, that's from Princess Mononoke!" You're 100% right. Morokami's named for Moro because she's awesome. Anyway, this chapter's the parade from her perspective.

Two weeks ago, she'd been playing with her older sisters – dressing in their mother's array of fine clothing, cosmetics and jewelry. Such things hadn't been allowed before the siege upon their city, but their mother had been desperate to keep her children preoccupied while a war waged outside the city walls. Their favorite part of the game had been to dress their little brother up as well.

There would never be another game of dress up with her siblings. There would never be any games at all. They were gone, all of them. It finally dawned on her that she was utterly alone. Her eyes watered at the thought, and the chains felt heavier than before, causing her to stumble. One of the soldiers prodded her forward, which did nothing to help her balance. She kept her eyes on the ground in front of her. The princess didn't want to see the crowds. They were happy that her family had been killed. That was why they'd come to the parade, right? She was too lost in her pain to realize the cheering had turned to boos. Her feet throbbed. She wasn't used to walking this much and without shoes. She was hungry and thirsty and wanted a hot bath. More hot tears welled in her eyes and trickled down her ash stained cheeks.

Morokami, last princess of Tiehuyu, wanted to go home, but despite her young age, she knew there was no home to go back to even if she could escape the Fire Nation. Maybe there wasn't even an Earth Kingdom anymore. If her father couldn't stop the Fire Nation, who could? There was no hope.

One of the soldiers stopped her with a rough hand on her dainty shoulder. Without having to look, she knew the Fire Lord was in front of her. For the first time in her life, Moro felt what must be hate, and there was nothing more pitiable than a child who knew hate. It was not what her mother would want her to feel, but this man had her family and her people killed. And for what? She'd once asked her sister Sumika why the Fire Nation wanted to hurt them. Sumi hadn't been able to answer. Maybe there was no good answer.

She could hear them talking about her, and it was only then that she looked up at the Fire Nation royalty. The Fire Lord was not the monster she'd envisioned. He was just a man and somehow, that made it worse. It was be easier if he'd been a monster. Yet, his wife, the Fire Lady, Moro found kindness in her expression and couldn't understand why. Whatever the reason, Moro would not find out now because she was quickly shuffled away by other servants.

A matronly woman, clearly a higher ranking servant, gently took her by the arm, "come child, let's clean you up. The Fire Lady will want to see you when this charade is finally over. Get some food in you too."

Moro remained silent but perked noticeably at the mention of food. She hoped it wasn't stale bread, but judging by the gentleness of the woman, Moro dared to believe it would be something more satisfying. Perhaps there was some hope left for her. If she lived, then some small part of Tiehuyu remained, and maybe that was enough.


	3. Still A Princess

Not too much to say about this...let me know what you think!

After being uncomfortably scrubbed down to remove the grim of travel and dressed in ill-fitting clothing by an array of servants, Moro had been taken to a room that reminded her of her mother's sunroom. A small feast had been laid out for her as well. Despite her hunger, Moro couldn't bring herself to eat. Everything tasted like ash, even though it smelled delicious and looked just as good. A few of the servants lingered, perhaps waiting for the Fire Lady, but didn't say anything to her. They simply milled about, occasionally stealing glances at the child of their conquered enemy.

She played with sleeve of the garment, hating the deep red color of the material. It was nice fabric but much too large for the lithe figure of a child. Her hair was still wet from the bath, but the room was warmed by the natural sunlight that caused the golden wall decorations to glimmer.

Moro picked at a piece of meat with chopsticks, but it wasn't appealing. She'd never really cared for meat. Her sister's had teased her for being a picky eater. It had annoyed her so much, but Moro would give anything to hear them teasing her again. She dropped the piece of meat back on the plate and choked back a sob. From the corner of her eye, she saw two of the servants exchange glances. None came to comfort her. They didn't know if that was allowed.

Silence settled over the room and wasn't broken until one of the doors slid open. At once, the servants bowed to the Fire Lady who swept in with the grace of a spirit. Moro lifted her eyes from her plate of mostly untouched food and met the Fire Lady's gaze. There must have been something unsettling in her jade green eyes because Ilah stopped dead in her tracks.

Fire Lord Azulon may have just been a man instead of the monster she expected, but his Fire Lady was something from one of the myths her mother used to tell. Tall and willowy, even as she stood still the Lady was graceful. Black hair had been intricately wrapped around a flame ornament – simple but elegant. Gold eyes were set in a pale face with high cheekbones and full, painted red lips. Nothing was out of place. Moro had never seen a woman so perfectly put together. It seemed unnatural, but so very Fire Nation.

Moro couldn't look away and found herself studying Ilah's face with an unexpected intensity. Why would she take her as a servant, but then have her clothed and fed? She could still feel the weight of the chains upon her shoulders. This sudden shift in situation made no sense.

The Fire Lady had always felt sympathy towards the other nations. However, it had been shamefully easy to forget they were at war. She'd never had to face the consequences of her husband's violent actions. Now, here in her favorite sunroom was a child her husband had made an orphan. There was a sorrow in the child's eyes she'd never seen before, a complete loss of innocence. Her husband, her nation, had caused it.

"Child, I…" Ilah started to speak but was at a loss of words. What was there to say? She looked away for a moment, unable to keep eye contact with the child that embodied her suppressed guilt. "I'm sorry for your loss." The words felt empty, and Ilah knew they were meaningless.

It was only after the Fire Lady apologized that Moro looked away. More silence followed. "I'm still a princess," She murmured softly, furrowing her brows and subconsciously forming fists with her little hands. "You can…you can take everything else away…but I'm still a princess!" Moro nearly shouted at the Fire Lady, tears welled in her eyes. The words were a poor paraphrasing of Sumi's speech before the final assault on their home. Nothing could ever change the fact they were the daughter's of Okami.

One of the servants gasped at the outburst, and Ilah's mouth was slightly parted in shock. Although tears streamed down her cheeks and her lips quivered pitifully, Moro kept her gaze firmly on Ilah.

"I know," Ilah replied softly before cautiously walking over to the table where Moro sat, and much to the shock of her servants, took a seat across from the child.

Moro blinked back her tears in shock, "you do?"

"Of course, you're the youngest daughter of one of the greatest Earth Kingdom kings, and I promise to treat you as such. You'll be my ward."

"What does that mean? What's a ward?" Moro tilted her head to the side in question like a little bird.

"It means you'll be under my protection and won't have to work as a servant." Or as much protection she could provide against her husband.

"Well, that's good, because I wouldn't be a good servant." Moro had been waited on all her, albeit short, life. She wouldn't know the first thing about being a servant.

Ilah couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "Good indeed," Ilah motioned at the food, "is it not good?"

Moro shrugged, "I wasn't very hungry, after all." However, as she spoke, her stomach grumbled a little, "But…I guess I'm a little more hungry now."

"Well, eat your fill. Do you mind if I join you?" Ilah offered a small smile.

The child didn't smile back, but she did relax ever so slightly, "I think I'd like that, Fire Lady."

"I'm glad to hear that, Princess…" And with horror, Ilah realized she did not know which princess was sitting in front of her. She'd known the name of the prince and the mother, but not this poor child in front of her.

"Morokami, but everyone just calls me Moro," She helpfully filled in the blank without missing a beat. "It's okay. There are a lot of us," Her face fell, and tears filled her eyes again. "There were a lot of us. Now there's just me."

Ilah flinched at the change of tense, "and we can light incense sticks in their memory, if you'd like…" She knew she could not offer anything more formal for a memorial service. Azulon would not be pleased.

Moro nodded her head, "…yes…I'd like that…and for my little brother and mother too…" She wiped at her eyes and nose with her sleeve. "…and my nanny…she tried to protect us…"The list could go on without end.

"It'll be done then," Ilah offered a sad smile. "But for now, please eat. We can find something that fits a little better after as well."

The little princess wiggled her arms a little to show off just how ill-fitting the garment was before picking up a foreign vegetable with her chopsticks and nibbling on it. Ilah filled her plate and began to eat with delicately small bites.

Neither knew what to say so they said nothing, and so, the Fire Lady and her new ward ate in an unexpectedly comfortable silence.


End file.
